John Banister Tabb
by George J. Dance Rev. John Banister Tabb (March 22, 1845 - November 19, 1909) was an American poet, Roman Catholic priest, and academic."Although often misspelled as Bannister, the poet's middle name is actually spelled with only one "n", Banister." "John B. Tabb," Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Web, July 29, 2012. Life Tabb was born at The Forest, the Tabb family plantation, in Amelia county, near Richmond, Virginia, to Marianna Bertrand (Archer) and Thomas Yelverton Tabb.John Banister Tabb, New Catholic Encyclopedia, Gale Group, 2003. Encyclopedia.com, Web, Jan. 17, 2019. He was tutored at home, until age 14, when his eyesight became too poor for him to read.John Banister Tabb, Historical Marker Database. Web, Jan. 17, 2019. Tabb enlisted in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and became a blockade runner for the Confederacy. His ship, the Siren was captured on June 4, 1864, and Tabb was imprisoned at Point Lookout prison camp, where he formed a lasting friendship with poet Sidney Lanier. Tabb began writing poetry as a result of his friendship with Lanier.Tabb, John B. (John Banister), 1845-1909, Social Networks and Archival Context. Web, Jan. 19, 2019. On the war's end in 1865, Tabb moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he befriended Episcopalian minister Alfred Curtis (later the Catholic bishop of Wilmington, Delaware. In 1870 Tabb began teaching at Racine College, an Episcopalian college in Michigan, but was called home because his sister was ill. On September 8, 1872, Tabb was baptized conditionally into the Catholic church. That November he enrolled at St. Charles College at Ellicott City in Maryland, graduating in 1875. He taught at St. Peter's School in Richmond from 1875 to 1877, and at St. Charles' College (where he also studied philosophy) from 1877 to 1881. He entered St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, in 1881, and was ordained on December 20, 1884. He then returned to teach at St. Charles College, where he remained for the rest of his life, and continued to teach English grammar until shortly before his death. His debut collection, Poems, was privately published in 1882; but it was only with his 1894 collection (also called Poems), that Tabb's work received acclaim and found ready acceptance. He published 4 further collections of poetry, and many of his poems were printed in the popular and prestigious magazines of the day, including Harper's Monthly, Atlantic Monthly, and Cosmopolitan. Tabb had suffered from poor eyesight since his boyhood, and he was completely blind at his death. He died in Ellicott City, Maryland, on November 9, 1909, and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.Rev John Banister Tabb, Find a Grave, August 15, 2002. Web, Jan. 19, 2019. Writing New Catholic Encyclopedia: "His priestly character pervades his poetry; the New and Old Testaments, the liturgy, theology, and hagiography furnish the functional metaphors and symbols for his lyric and epigrammatic presentation of the world of nature and man." His poems were written here, there, and everywhere; but all of them bear the stamp of a highly cultivated and gifted mind. They were contributed to the foremost magazines and were read with avidity. Concise and suggestive, these literary gems cling to the fancy and thus realize the modest ambition of their author as expressed in the opening poem of his Later Lyrics: "O little bird, I'd be A poet like to thee Singing my native song, Brief to the ear, but long To love and memory." In the lyric field he was greatly admired. Under his muse inanimate things took on life and beauty and the abstract became concrete and personal.T. Duggan, John Bannister Tabb, Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1912. New Advent, Web, Jan. 17, 2019. Recognition English poet Alice Meynell made A Selection from the Verses of John B. Tabb (1906). His biographer, Francis A. Litz, a former student of Tabb's, published previously uncollected poems and previously unpublished poems in Father Tabb: A study of his life and works (1923); Litz also edited a collected edition, The Poetry of Father Tabb (1928). 5 of his poems were anthologized in the Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse. He is commemmorated by the Tabb Monument in Amelia co., Virginia. Publications Poetry *''Poems''. Baltimore, MD: St. Mary's Industrial School Press, 1882. *''Poems.'' Boston: Copeland & Day, 1894; London: John Lane, 1894. *''Lyrics. Boston: Copeland & Day, 1897; London: John Lane, 1897. *''An Octave to Mary. New York: M.F. Mansfield, 1897. *[http://www.archive.org/details/childversepoemsg00tabbrich Child Verse: Poems grave and gay]. Boston: Small, Maynard, 1899. *''Later Lyrics. London & New York: J. Lane, 1902. *The Rosary in Rhyme, Boston: Small, Maynard, 1904. *Quips and Quiddits: Ques for the Qurious. Boston: Small Maynard, 1907. *Later Poems. New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1910; London: Burns & Oates, 1910. *A Selection from the Verses of John B. Tabb'' (selected by Alice Meynell). London: Burns & Oates, 1910. *''The Poetry of Father Tabb'' (edited by Francis E.A. Litz). London: John Lane, 1928. *''The Best Poems of John Banister Tabb'' (edited by Francis E.A. Litz). Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1957. Non-fiction *"Sermon on the Assumption, August 15, 1894" (his only sermon to have survived), in Sister Mary Paula Finn, John Bannister Tabb: The priest-poet. Washington, DC: Georgetown Visitation Convent, 1915."Sermon on the Assumption, August 15, 1894, John Bannister Tabb: The priest-poet. (Washington, DC: Georgetown Visitation Convent, 1915), 146. Internet Archive, Web, Nov. 28, 2013. *''Bone Rules, or Skeleton of English Grammar. Cincinnati, OH, & New York: Benziger Bros., 1897. *''On Emily Dickinson. New York: Seven Gables Bookshop, 1950. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:John Bannister Tabb, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Nov. 28, 2013. See also * List of U.S. poets References *Finn, Sister Mary Paula, John Bannister Tabb: The priest-poet. Washington, DC: Georgetown Visitation Convent, 1915 * Litz, Francis A. Father Tabb: A study of his life and works. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press , 1923. * Tabb, Jennie Masters. Father Tabb: His life and work. Boston, MA: Stratford, 1922.Tabb, John Banister (1845-1909), Representative Poetry Online, University of Toronto, UToronto.ca, Web, Dec. 23, 2011. Fonds *John Banister Tabb collection of papers, 1894-1904 at the New York Public Library Notes External links ;Poems *John Banister Tabb poem ("Evolution") at the Academy of American Poets *Tabb in the Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse: "The Life-tide," "Communion," "An Interpreter," "Christ and the Pagan," "All in All" * Tabb, John Banister (1845-1909) (8 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. *"Poetry by John B. Tabb: A Centenary Selection" (284 poems). *John Bannister Tabb at PoemHunter (856 poems). * Examples of John Banister Tabb's poetic verse forms ;Books *John Banister Tabb at Amazon.com ;About *Tabb, John B. (John Banister), 1845-1909 at Social Networks and Archival Context *John Bannister Tabb in the Catholic Encyclopedia *Tabb, John Banister in the New Catholic Encyclopedia *''John Bannister Tabb: The Priest-Poet'' Category:1845 births Category:1909 deaths Category:American educators Category:American poets Category:American Roman Catholic priests Category:American schoolteachers Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism Category:People from Howard County, Maryland Category:People from Amelia County, Virginia Category:19th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Christian poets Category:Catholic poets